The Soulful House

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How to Hide the TV Electronics

by The Soulful House on April 28, 2012

I thought I was so clever a few months ago when I posted here about finding the perfect way to hide the big black hole of TV and electronics living in our mantel. (Does anybody else want to misspell that word like I do?)

Turns out the mirror wasn’t a sustainable solution because I like watching my HGTV and DIY channels too much (anyone else?) and it became a royal pain to heft the mirror up and down all the time.

But it WAS so pretty…

I’ve finally landed on a more reasonable fix.

I used velcro to attach a piece of fabric to the trim on the inside of the TV nook. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than looking at black speakers and boxes.

You can see some unfinished hems and fabric pulling but this was the best I could do considering there is a big mounting block on the back of the TV plus several oddly shaped metal brackets attached to that, that forced me to break up the fabric into two separate pieces. Would you believe it took me 2 hours just to get this fabric in place?

The nice thing is that from a distance (which is how most people view it), the green backdrop frames the TV almost like the mat around a photo and it creates more of a focal point for the TV. (Right. In case you miss the idea that the massive TV screen is the focal point.)

Here’s a shot with the TV on. You can see the glow of the cable box behind the fabric.

It’s utilitarian AND it brings the green accent color to a more prominent place in the room.

I’m not sure I love it, but I definitely like it, and it keeps growing on me. What do you think?

Of course it took forever to get these pictures because I kept getting sidetracked taking photos of this:

Be still my heart…

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Valentine Mantel Decor

by The Soulful House on February 3, 2012

There are very few times of the year that pink takes center stage in our house.

Okay, only one time.

NOW!

Thank you St. Valentine.

I like creating new mantelscapes (word?) of things I already have, which is mostly how this year’s Valentine decor came to be.

This is a black frame that I sprayed white, and the tulip picture I tore out of a gardening magazine.

These blossom branches were borrowed from the centerpiece of my dining room table and the vase filled with Epsom salts and wrapped in ribbon. The apothecary jar is a $1.50 Goodwill find filled with leftover Christmas beads and cut up ribbon curls. It just felt romantic to put those two together.

These two candlesticks are on my mantel year-round but I wrapped the candles in ribbon to match the pink and green of the berry sprays hanging in the mirror.

These berry garland strands were $4 each on sale at Michaels and I loved them on first sighting. They are more on the coral side of pink which gave a lively burst of color to the centerpiece of the mirror.

The apothecary jar on the left was $6 on sale at Michaels and the one on the right I’ve had for ages and swap it around from room to room keeping life and decor interesting.

Altogether it feels festive and romantic!

(How did I not notice sooner that the mirror needs washing? It looked clear as a bell until I saw these pictures!)

My little guy brought back the “S” which he said stands for Miss Sarah (his totally sweet and much beloved preschool teacher). Okay, sure. Who am I to rain on that parade?

I’m joining up with some Valentine Link parties so check them out at: Decor Chick, Michelle Paige, Today’s Creative Blog, and Momnivores.

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Smoke and Mirrors

by The Soulful House on December 5, 2011

Until a few days ago, we had no real mantle above our fireplace due to the dark hole of TV/electronics sitting in the alcove above it. Then the hubby discovered that the mirror hanging in our dining room was the perfect size to cover the entire alcove and hide all those speakers and electronics boxes. It was a happy happy day.

Welcome to the Christmas unveiling of our first “real” mantle.

You can see the mirror is angled slightly, reflecting back the chandelier.

I wanted to keep it simple and natural, with sprayed white branches in the center and live Fir clippings along the length of the mantle.

The stockings were 50 CENTS last year at an after-Christmas sale. The glittery sprays in each stocking give some visual weight and also continue the theme of natural tree branches that I am loving this year.

I wrapped the candles in blue and silver ribbon and then added an ornament (20 cents at that same sale last year!) to the base of each candle.

I like the contrast of the woven basket against the soft blue blanket.

Here’s the full effect from across the room.

And from above…

What do we do if we want to watch TV? Go upstairs to the other TV.

Actually it’s easy to pull off the mirror and use the TV whenever we need it. But for now we’re enjoying this mantle so much that we like leaving it up all the time.

Here’s the before shot (taken last week).

And now the after shot, decked for Christmas and sans TV. (With requisite dog on hearth.)

Happy happy girl I am.

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Fall Mantle

by The Soulful House on October 28, 2011

In our house, the TV is a massive black hole above the mantle.

It’s impossible to decorate this mantle without blocking the TV/DVR receivers. So I invented my own “mantle” for seasonal decor. Remember this entryway console table I made from an old dresser?